We'll be looking at a few verses in both Acts 8 and Acts 9 as we continue in our thematic study of the book of Acts using the theme, God Grows the Church. We'll be reading from Acts 8, verses 1 through 4, and then we'll move to Acts 9 beginning with verse 1. And before we do, let's ask for God's blessing. Our Almighty God, we give thanks for Your Word and for the presence and power of Your Holy Spirit. We pray, Father, that as we consider what You have given to us here, that we would see Christ, That we would understand who we are in Him and what You have called Your saints from the past along with us today in the presence to do as Your witnesses in this world. Lord, we need You. We call upon You to do this work in and through us for Jesus' sake. Amen. As we come to Acts 8, we come to the end of Stephen's sermon. His preaching of Christ. A message that brought him death. And we're told in Acts 8, verse 1, that Saul, who's later and more commonly known as Paul, was there giving approval to his death. On that day, a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison. Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. And Philip, he went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed Christ there. And while Philip was carrying on his ministry in Samaria and elsewhere, we find in Acts 9, verse 1, that Saul continued breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest and he asked for letters to the synagogues in Damascus so that if he could find any there who belonged to the way, Whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? Who are you, Lord? Saul asked. I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting, he replied. Now get up and go into the city and you will be told what you must do. The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless. They heard the sound, but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes, he could not see. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind and did not eat or drink anything. In Damascus, there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision. Ananias, yes, Lord, he answered. The Lord told him, Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight. Lord, answered Ananias, I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name. But the Lord said to Ananias, Go, this man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name. Then Ananias went to the house and entered it, placing his hands on Saul. He said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here, He has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength. Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. All those who heard him were astonished and asked, Isn't he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on his name? And hasn't he come here to take them as prisoners to chief priests? Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ. One of the more warm-hearted songs on the radio these days says, Have yourself a merry little Christmas. Let your heart be light. From now on, our troubles will be out of sight. It is a warm-hearted, fun song about the cultural surroundings of the season of Christmas. And yet, at best, it's prophetic, isn't it? And at worst, utterly unrealistic. Each of us has lived long enough to know that this life will always be filled with troubles of every kind. Especially the trouble faced by Christians in an unchristian world. This evening, we'll look at and consider how God uses our troubles. And by trouble, I don't mean the trouble we face in balancing our checkbook or the hard work we have to put in to get an A on that test or the disappointment we face when losing a game or a debate, but rather the suffering that is distinct for those who believe in Jesus Christ in a dark and dying world. We see this through Stephen's murder, the story of Philip's ministry and Saul's or Paul's mandate. As we consider those things this evening, we'll also consider and we'll conclude by noticing that they didn't suffer alone. Ministers, members, the church, we suffer to gather, don't we? and yet suffering is not the focus of this text as it's not the focus of our lives. We don't focus on suffering. Even though at that first Christmas, it was hardly passed before Satan was at work within the heart of sinful Herod to kill every baby boy in and around Bethlehem. And we don't focus on suffering even though Pentecost, when it was hardly over, Satan was at work within the sinful heart of religious leaders to persecute and even kill those who believe in Jesus. We don't focus on suffering because we see that God has a greater purpose for the suffering that His people experience in this life. A purpose to bring the good news of great joy that would be for all the people. That's the message of Christmas, isn't it? That's what we like to focus on. That's what we like to tell. And that's what we need to tell. That for you, on this day, a Savior has been born. Christ the Lord. It's good news. And yet, in telling the good news, Stephen was murdered. We see Stephen and his message and we recognize that it was for this message that he was killed. And his killing brought about a persecution to the Christians in Jerusalem and yet ultimately inspires church growth throughout the region. In Acts 8, verse 1, we're told that Saul, in the NIV, we're told that Saul was there giving approval to his death. It's a true translation, though it's slightly on the weak side. The NASV is not too much better when it says that Saul consents to putting Stephen to death. The ESV comes a little closer to the strength of the word used here when it says that Saul approved of his execution. Make no mistake about it, that Stephen was murdered. That's why we call him the first martyr of the church. Remember that Stephen was appointed along with six others. He was one of the seven appointed back in Acts 6 for the remarkable gifts of the Spirit that were appointed by the apostles to ecclesiastical office. And we're noted in particular about Stephen's gifts for preaching and teaching and his God-given ability to work miracles. And we get a taste of his preaching and teaching in chapter 7. We have recorded there what I think is the longest sermon in the New Testament. It's not within the context of a church like this, but it's rather within the public context and really in the context of trial. Stephen is called out for his preaching and teaching of Christ by the religious authorities and he responds to their charges by preaching the Word of God. And it's really quite remarkable. I think this sermon had three points. Most good sermons have three points, don't they? This one, I think, had three points even though it seems that only two are present in the text. You can check it out for this evening. He gets through two points and the people had enough. He talks about the salvation promised. He talks about the salvation rejected and the people respond viciously. had they been a little bit softer in their response, they might have been like those who responded to Peter's sermon in Acts 2, which is very similar to Stephen's sermon here. Likewise, having, I think, three points, and they, in Acts 2, with Peter, are cut to the heart. They say, what must we do to be saved? And yet, this people never get to the third point of salvation received Instead, they respond in chapter 7 verse 51 Stephen says to them You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears You are just like your fathers You always resist the Holy Spirit And they respond to his application to his pressing of the law and justice of God upon them When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. A little bit later, we're told that they covered their ears and yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city, and they began to stone him. A dramatic and devastating response that left Stephen murdered in the streets. modern response to the Gospel is a little more civilized, isn't it? The truth of God's Word is no less piercing as it exposes the sinfulness of our own heart, the fallenness of our soul, and the rebellion of our own lives in response to God. And yet the modern response is a little more civilized. Satan's work is more refined. We can just get a different book or change the channel or go to a different church. And we can find a message that will encourage us in our present and identity. That will encourage us in our difficulties. That will give us just positive thinking to overcome our shortcomings. And yet that more modern, civilized response to the Gospel is no less rebellious than it was here in Acts 7. It's a rebellion against God unless we hear and believe. Unless we come face to face, as it were, with Jesus Christ and recognize that we need a Savior. That we recognize that the Savior has come. That we confess that the Savior born on Christmas Day is my Lord and Savior. Not just yours, not just others, not just good for the season, but is my Lord and Savior. My Savior, because I have such a great need. That wasn't how Stephen's audience responded to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. and we're told that they were persecuted. It broke out in Jerusalem. The church and believers were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Paul continued, or Saul continued, to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison. You might have heard of Tertullian. He was a church father. He lived about 200 years after Christ. And as he looked back upon the generation of believers that had preceded him, he said this, the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. Indeed, it was true for Stephen. The blood that spilt for him and his ministry for Christ was indeed an inspiration that brought the Gospel beyond those in Jerusalem and inspired it to go forth into all the peoples of the world. And we see an example of that in Philip's ministry. Stephen did not die in vain, but he inspired those like Philip and others like him to bring the Gospel to the peoples. And we see in Philip's story how his ministry was confirmed by signs and wonders and was even supported by the apostles and ultimately reached into the other nations of Samaria, Gaza, and Caesarea. We read a little bit of it in Acts 8, verse 12. We're told that when he went into Samaria, he preached the good news of the kingdom of God in the name of Jesus Christ, and those there believed they were baptized, both men and women. In fact, his ministry was so profound among the Samaritans, the response reached the apostles back in Jerusalem and were told that the apostles go down to support him. Verse 14 says that when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the Word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. And when they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. The ministry of Philip was greatly blessed by the Lord in Samaria as his preaching and teaching of Christ in the New Covenant was also confirmed through the exercise of signs and wonders, the supernatural work of miracles coming alongside of the Word to confirm the Word during that formative foundational period of the apostolic age. And that way, God enabled Philip and others to extend the foundation and to extend the missional outreach of Jerusalem beyond Samaria and to Gaza. In chapter 8, verse 26, we're told that the Lord said to Philip, go south down the road from Jerusalem to Gaza. And that's a significant town because it was the last significant city before Egypt. You know, when we're traveling, there are signs that say, you know, last exit for the next 200 miles. Get gas now. That was Gaza. That was the last stop on the road to Egypt. Get water now. Get your provisions. Philip goes there and ministers to the people the good news of Christ and encounters an Ethiopian eunuch. It appears that this eunuch was in charge of the household of the queen of Ethiopia. And through this ministry, so quickly, the Lord inspires and moves the Gospel into Samaria, Gaza, even down into Ethiopia. But Philip isn't done. He goes on from there. The Spirit calls him. In verse 39, we're told, to Caesarea. And that town was also significant. Very strategic along the waterfront. A major Greek-speaking city. A center of Roman government in Judea. And Philip stays there and ministers for the name and sake of Christ among those people. And we don't read about him again until Acts 20. Until Paul goes and his missionary travels and stays a time with Philip. The story of Philip's ministry and his mission to the peoples is exactly what Jesus intended to happen. He told His disciples that you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and unto the ends of the earth. He did not want His ministers to say of Jerusalem, come and see. Look at the temple. and the sacrificial system. Jesus had fulfilled the purpose of the temple. Jesus had fulfilled the sacrificial system. That's what enraged the religious leaders in response to Stephen and Philip and their ministry of the Gospel. That Jesus had fulfilled the law. Now go and tell the good news that a Savior has been born. Christ the Lord. No, not come and see, but go and tell. Go and make disciples of all the nations. God grew the church. Extended it beyond Jerusalem by using the pain and suffering of those who opposed His Word. I enjoy reading missionary biographies and I've been reading one recently about a modern missionary who served in Papua New Guinea. Stirring testimony of what Christ is doing today about the power of Word and Spirit among the unreached peoples today. A stirring testimony that he entitles reckless abandon. It gives you a sense of how this individual approaches the missionary endeavor. He writes, If as Gospel ambassadors we are unwilling to suffer even as much as soldiers and firemen, could the reason be that we don't treasure Christ enough or value the Gospel enough to sacrifice significantly for its advancement into unreached regions. This individual wonders if the church of today has found itself in such a place of comfort and ease and relative peace that there is a silent musing, maybe not conscious but still present, that Christ is simply not worth the risk. God will grow His church and He will use whatever means necessary to inspire His ministers and members and missionaries to service. Stephen didn't have an option. Philip didn't have an option. Paul didn't have a choice. He thought he did. But in Acts 9, while Stephen was carrying on his ministry, we're told that Paul continued his murderous pursuit of the church. And we see how he hated the Gospel. He hated disciples and believers. He hated Jesus until he met Jesus. In verse 3, we're told that he's nearing Damascus on the journey and suddenly a night from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? And he says, who are you, Lord? I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. This man's soul is changed. And most commentary on this passage focuses on the conversion of Paul and whether or not his experience should be our experience, but that misses the point. We need to remember that the time and place of Paul is so unique. It's when God is at work through the power of His Spirit to establish the New Covenant and confirm the New Covenant with both word and signs and wonders and he does so through these remarkable means and in this situation he doesn't work a miracle of healing or casting out a demon but he appears personally, visibly to Saul and everything has changed. The news he hated now defines him. The people he sought to kill now are part of his own family whom he lives to serve. The one person he hated the most has become his Lord. Has become his Savior. Such that he's glad to now live the rest of his life to suffer for the sake of His name. That's what Jesus says. In chapter 9, verse 16, that I have chosen Paul to be my instrument and I will show him how much he must suffer for my name. The rest of Acts tells the story of Paul's mandate, about how he responded to the sovereign call of God upon his life, about how he experienced trials and tribulation and suffering of countless and most remarkable kinds. And a little bit later, Paul comments himself in Colossians 1 saying that he's come to the point where I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake. And he's speaking not of Jesus, but of the body of Christ. Where once he sought to destroy the church he now rejoices in suffering for the church saying that in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions or we might say in the body of Christ and the affliction of the church. And in another place he says for we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings. So through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and your salvation. And if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Members, missionaries, ministers, suffer to gather. Because we work to gather, Paul says, for your joy. And the members respond to say that we work and we live and we pray, Paul, for your joy because we exist not to suffer. Suffering is not the focus. We exist not to experience pain. But we exist as believers in Jesus Christ to make known the good news of great joy that we've come to know and share it for the world. In fact, our passage comes to a conclusion. In verse 31, it says that the church throughout Judea, Galilee, Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened and encouraged by the Spirit. It grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord. Brothers and sisters in Christ, God grows His church through suffering. whatever comes to test our faith or to tempt us to follow another Lord but Christ or to lay our hope in someone other than Jesus our Savior, that temptation, whether sin, whether the work of Satan, whether the frailty of our flesh, whether the camaraderie of friends is suffering for the name of Christ. And we need to be assured this evening that number one, that suffering will not ever leave us in this life. And that number two, it is always brought to us with purpose. That we would be strengthened in our faith in Christ and that through us and with us as a community, God would use it to grow the church. There's no doubt that what we read of in Acts is a very distinct act of God for distinct individuals, a distinct time and place. But we're not left out of this story. We're not left out of this mission. In fact, one reformer writing in the 1500s moved so seamlessly in his exposition of this passage to its application to his people, saying that if the furiousness of our enemies seem past. Let us not imagine that we have a truce. But let us be in readiness to suffer even sorer brunts as often as they shall break out upon us. His point is that if you are in a time of peace, be vigilant. Be ready, because this is not Disneyland that we find ourselves in, but rather a war, a battlefield. And we can never be fully at ease. So members, we need to be praying that God would be strengthening us and our faith, preparing us for the struggle that would lay ahead. And we need to pray likewise for our ministers, that our ministers would not fear suffering, that we would not strive against it or kick against it or fight against it, but that we would see it as a school for our soul so that we might be properly armed to suffer for the sake of Christ and the people of God. And as members and as ministers, we need to be praying that God would continue to raise up among us missionaries because there are many who do not yet know. This missionary I spoke of before to pop out in New Guinea says this, that the Gospel is so valuable that no risk is unreasonable. Life is gained by laying it down for the Gospel. If I live, I win and get to keep on preaching Christ. If I die, I win bigger. by going directly to be with Jesus. I conclude that losing my life for the Gospel is literally impossible because my years on this earth are worth far less than the value of the eternal Gospel. Doesn't that sound like the spirit of Apostle Paul? Doesn't that sound like the spirit of so many ministers and missionaries who have gone out to bring Christ where Christ had not yet been known? And shouldn't that be the focus and longing of our prayers that they too would be saved. We don't need to focus on our suffering. We don't need to focus on our pain. But what God will do in and through us with it. That through us, the good news of great joy would be truly brought to and be given for all the people. Let's pray. Oh Lord, we give thanks that You continue to speak good news to Your people. If we are honest and we reflect within ourselves and within our hearts and our minds, we see how weak, how sinful, and how needy we are of Your grace. Oh God, we pray that each and every one here would be moved by Your Spirit to cry out for more grace. That we'd long to have peace with You. To have confidence of being able to die and die well in Christ. Because for us to live is Christ and to die is gain. Lord, may this message that worked so profoundly through Stephen's murder and Philip's ministry and Paul's mandate, may it work profoundly today. May it work here and beyond our walls to this community and to those who have not yet heard, we pray for Jesus' sake. Amen.